A number of federal and state benefits are linked with Health Professional Shortage Area designations (HPSAs) and/or Medically Underserved Area/Population designations (MUA/Ps). These benefits are designed to encourage health professionals to work in rural and inner-city shortage areas and increase access to primary care, dental care and mental health services.

Federal Community Health Center Funding Linked with MUA/Ps

Non-profit community organizations located in MUA/Ps are eligible to apply for federal grants under the Community Health Centers Program (community health center, migrant health center, health care for the homeless, public housing health center).

Federally funded community health centers are then eligible for cost-based reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid as federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).

Health Professions Training Resources Linked with HPSAs and MUA/Ps

Health professions academic training programs who apply for many of the education and training grants from the federal Bureau of Health Professions are given a funding preference if they can demonstrate that they recruit students from and if their graduates serve populations in designated HPSAs and MUA/Ps.